IHRB says no public money used to give ex-CEO additional early retirement payment

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has said no public money was used to give its former chief executive an additional payment of over €140,000 after he took early retirement in 2021.

Denis Egan, who served as CEO of the regulator for 20 years, received a termination payment of €384,870 when he availed of an early retirement and voluntary redundancy scheme.

In accounts for 2021, the first annual report released by the IHRB, it was revealed by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Séamus McCarthy, that Egan got a bigger “golden handshake” than the maximum payment outlined under the scheme.

Egan, who stepped down at the height of a controversy surrounding doping allegations made by trainer Jim Bolger, got an extra €141,880 (58 per cent more) than if the scheme conditions were applied.

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McCarthy pointed out that the scheme stated: “Maximum [early retirement] payment to any individual would not exceed 104 weeks of salary and/or an equivalent redundancy calculation. There will be no exception to this.”

He added: “Accordingly, the terms agreed with the former CEO were, to a significant extent, an exception to the provisions of the board’s early retirement scheme.”

The IHRB got over €10.1 million in State funding in 2021, but a spokesman said on Friday that Egan’s top-up did not include public money.

“In June 2021, under a scheme which had been previously announced, the then CEO of IHRB applied for and was granted early retirement.

“As part of the scheme, he received a termination payment which comprised the amount payable under that scheme and an additional payment from the Turf Club and the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee (INHSC) in recognition of his service to horse racing in Ireland and abroad,” he said.

The IHRB, a company limited by guarantee, was set up by both the Turf Club and the INHSC in 2018.

The IHRB spokesman said the €141,880 was generated by contributions from the Turf Club and the INHSC and insisted: “The IHRB didn’t contribute to the additional payment. There were no public funds used as part of it.”

The IHRB published its first ever annual report for 2021 alongside its usual statistical analysis and showed a turnover of over €11.6 million for that year.

It received funding from Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) of €10,149,289, while €1,390,044 was generated from licensing and registrations. There was also €118,120 of capital grants from HRI.

Egan had come under pressure in 2021 to reveal his salary when appearing before an Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, but declined to do so.

The 2021 accounts showed that €5,398,227 was paid out in salaries and wages overall but didn’t reveal Egan’s pay, or that of the interim CEO following his departure, Cliodhna Guy.

Darragh O’Loughlin took up the role as CEO in June and the IHRB chairman, Martin O’Donnell, told an Oireachtas Committee that his salary is €180,000. The IHRB also said the chief executive’s salary will be published in future.

O’Loughlin said in the report: “Equine anti-doping is a top priority for the organisation, as for the sport, and we have no tolerance for any rule breaches in this regard.

“It is also quite rightly an area of interest for the general public who support our work and the IHRB engaged with strong media interest in relation to procedures in this area over the past year.

“In 2021, almost 6000 (5,952) tests were carried out – the highest number yet, with more out-of-competition tests than ever before. Of these, a total of 35 returned an Adverse Analytical Finding, with cases relating to a number of these still being finalised.”

He added: “Our intelligence-led system to tackle doping concerns continues to strengthen, as do our tools, and the appointment by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine of our 12 authorised officers is another welcome development in underscoring trust in our industry.”